Help shape Northumberland's future child and family services

Child wearing mask and cape. By Jessica Rockowitz. Free Use Domain-Upsplash

By Cecilia Nasmith, Northumberland 89.7 FM News

Northumberland County

Northumberland County is offering parents of children up to age 12, as well as parents-to-be, the chance for input into shaping future child and family services.

Northumberland County's Early Years Services is inviting parents and caregivers of children aged 2 and under (as well as parents-to-be) to complete an on-line survey to share their needs and experiences with local child-care and family services, with the chance to be entered into a draw for one of five $25 gift cards.

This survey will help shape the delivery of current and future child and family services locally, including licensed child care, child-care fee subsidies, EarlyON Child and Family Centre programming and more.

This data will also support the development of the county's Early Years Services five-year plan for 2025-2030, which will explore ways to enhance Early Years services, direct resources to areas of greatest need, and ensure services continue to suit the evolving needs of local families.

Early Years Manager Lesley Patterson cited a continuing high demand for these services at a time when the Early Years sector is experiencing province-wide workforce shortages.

“However, despite these challenges, Northumberland County has been working closely with our program and child-care providers to enhance services and expand our existing stock of licensed child-care spaces to meet the needs of our growing community,” Patterson said.

“Between the end of 2022 and 2024, the county increased the number of licensed child-care spaces in Northumberland by 35%, and we are on track to add 404 new high-quality affordable, flexible and inclusive early-learning and child-care spaces across the county by the end of 2026.

“As we continue to expand services, we would like to hear from families to better understand which types of services they need, where they need them and how we can better meet their needs.”

The survey can be found at JoinIn.Northumberland.ca, and families are encouraged to complete the survey by Friday, April 11, to be entered into the gift-card draw.

You can also track the county's performance in delivering on child-care expansion efforts by visiting the county's performance dashboard at Northumberland.ca/Dashboard